1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal authentication system and method using a personal ballistocardiogram signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of forgery techniques, attention is being paid to person authentication modalities based on physiological instrumentation. This is because, unlike existing authentication modalities representative of a key and a password, it is difficult to forge physiological features peculiar to each individual. Representative examples of the physiological features which are peculiar to the individuals and which are used for personal authentication at present include a fingerprint, an iris, a hand dorsal vein, and so on.
Physiological signals other than the physical patterns such as the fingerprint, the iris, and the hand dorsal vein may also provide different features for each individual. For example, an electrocardiogram waveform based on a physiological structural difference of the heart which exists between individuals may be used for personal authentication. It is reported in various researches that individuals can be distinguished through a relative interval between characteristic points of the electrocardiogram waveform representative of a P wave, a QRS complex, and a T wave (PQRST), an amplitude ratio, or a specific combination of frequency components.
However, to measure the electrocardiogram, adhesive electrode pads should be attached to a human body. Attaching the electrode pads each time for the personal authentication gives rise to discomfort and aversion to an authenticating process. When many users are to be authenticated, this is accompanied with discomfort that the adhesive electrode pads should be frequently exchanged.